dirtball

[XEROX PARC] A small, perhaps struggling
outsider; not in the major or even the minor leagues. For example,
"Xerox is not a dirtball company".

[Outsiders often observe in the PARC culture an institutional
arrogance which usage of this term exemplifies. The brilliance and
scope of PARC's contributions to computer science have been such
that this superior attitude is not much resented. --ESR]